Garlic and chicken are wonderful partners. They go together beautifully. Just think of Chicken Kiev and you will know what I am talking about.
And by that I am not talking about those minced reformed chicken pieces
shaped around garlic butter that you can get in the frozen food aisle of
the shops.
I am talking about real chicken breasts, filled with a nice
nugget of garlic butter, breaded and then flash fried until golden
brown . . . perfectly cooked through so that when you puncture the
chicken with your knife an fork, all that golden garlic butter oozes out
onto your plate.
Oh boy but it is some good . . . but I digress.
This is not chicken kiev . . . this is tender moist chicken breast fillets, pounded and breaded with seasoned and herbed bread crumbs, and then browned until golden brown all over and cooked through . . .
Then napped with a lucious garlicky, cheesy sauce . . .
Every mouthful bringing you a delicious mix of crispy moist and tender chicken . . . and some of that beautifully rich and creamy sauce . . .
Do take care when you are making the sauce not to brown or burn the garlic. It turns nasty if you do. If you burn the garlic, throw it away and start over . . .
Personally once I get the sauce thickened, I like to strain out the garlic . . . leaving the sauce velvety smooth . . . with just the flavour of the garlic permeating it . . .
Personally once I get the sauce thickened, I like to strain out the garlic . . . leaving the sauce velvety smooth . . . with just the flavour of the garlic permeating it . . .
Infusing it with all that lovely buttery garlic taste . . . .
You could use already seasoned bread crumbs, Italian ones . . . but I like to make my own, adding my own herbs and seasonings.
You could use already seasoned bread crumbs, Italian ones . . . but I like to make my own, adding my own herbs and seasonings.
Don't pound your chicken too thin . . . you want the meat to keep its shape. You only want to tenderize it a tiny bit.
Just get it golden brown in the skillet. You don't need to cook it all the way through. It will be finished off in the oven while you make that beautiful sauce.
Just get it golden brown in the skillet. You don't need to cook it all the way through. It will be finished off in the oven while you make that beautiful sauce.
I like to serve this with some rice and mixed vegetables, or maybe a salad. I think you will agree this is a winning combo!
Tender and moist chicken cutlets with a fabulously rich and tasty garlic sauce. This is special.
For the chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
120ml single cream or half and half (1/2 cup)
120g to 180g dry bread crumbs (I use panko) (1 - 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano flakes
1/4 tsp dried marjoram flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
2 TBS oil
For the sauce:
2 TBS butter
2 TBS plain flour
240ml single cream (1 cup half and half)
60g cream cheese (2 ounces)
45g finely grated parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)
1 tsp fine sea salt mixed with 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
Mix
together the bread crumbs, garlic and onion powder, basil, oregano,
marjoram and salt and black pepper in a large flat bowl. Place the
cream in another bowl. Pound your chicken breasts, on each side,
between two sheets of plastic cling film to tenderize.
Dip
the breasts into the cream to coat, allowing any excess to drip off.
Roll them in the seasoned bread crumbs to coat. Place aside on a wire
rack to dry for about 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large
skillet over medium high heat, until hot. Brown the chicken well on
both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Take care not to burn it.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*f/ gas mark 4. Place the cooked chicken onto a baking sheet which you have lined with baking paper. Place into the oven to finish cooking it through while you make the sauce.
To
make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan until it begins to foam.
Add the garlic. Cook, stirring over medium low heat until fragrant
without allowing it to brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour
and cook for a further 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken stock, and then
the cream, whisking constantly, until thickened. (At this point I like
to strain it through a sieve so that I can remove any bits of garlic,
but you can leave them in if you wish) Whisk the cream cheese, and
parmesan into the thickened sauce, stirring to melt the cheeses. Mix
together your salt and pepper and whisk this in. Taste and adjust
seasoning as required.
Divide the chicken between four
heated dinner plates and spoon a portion of sauce over each. Serve
immediately. I like to have rice and vegetables with this.
Just look at that moist, perfectly cooked chicken . . . with its crispy coating and that beautifully silky sauce. Oh boy but this is some good eating! Bon Appetit!
*Creamy Garlic Sauced Chicken*
Serves 4
2 TBS finely minced fresh garlic
120ml chicken stock (1/2 cup)Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*f/ gas mark 4. Place the cooked chicken onto a baking sheet which you have lined with baking paper. Place into the oven to finish cooking it through while you make the sauce.
Just look at that moist, perfectly cooked chicken . . . with its crispy coating and that beautifully silky sauce. Oh boy but this is some good eating! Bon Appetit!
I am having one of those kinds of days today . . . a day when I just can't be asked. To. Do. Anything. But we still have to eat. That's when dish like this comes in really handy!
Cheese on toast. You can't get much easier or tastier. If you can grate a block of cheese and operate an oven, you can make this!
I add a bit of grainy mustard and mayo to the cheese, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce!
You will want to use a nice strong cheddar for this. That goes without saying I guess, but don't really be tempted to use low fat. This is an instance where you want the full deal!
Its the same with the Mayo . . . use full fat. I use a grainy Dijon for extra punch. You can leave the Worcestershire out, but I like just a splash.
You also want to use a pretty decent bread. I used a rye whole wheat bread today, but any good rustic bread works well. You don't want it to be a bread that will conflict too much with the other flavours, so try to keep it simple.
You could serve some salad on the side, or a bowl or cup of hot soup. Tomato is good, but you probably already guessed that!
In any case when you are having an off day, this is a simple hot supper that goes down a real treat. I've never had anyone say "Oh no . . . cheese on toast again!" not ever . . . no, not ever.
*Cheese on Toast*
Serves 2
softened butter for spreading
181g good strong cheddar cheese (1 1/2 cups)Mix together the cheese, mustard, mayonnaise and worcestershire sauce.
Hoping tomorrow I feel more like cooking, but for today, this was just the ticket. Bon Appetit!
Ever since I found my bread baking mojo a few weeks ago I have been making and baking my own bread, much to Todd's delight! The other day I tried making my own Burger buns!
I had been sent some lovely frozen Quinoa and Kale Burgers to try out and I wanted to make my own buns to go with it and did a search, coming up with this recipe for Vegan Burger Buns with Poppyseeds on a site called the Greedy Vegan.
Which I then adapted to use for us. We are not Vegans so using Vegan ingredients was not necessary for us. I figured out my own non-vegan ingredients. Also her North American measurements were quite a bit off, so I have given the proper ones here. If you are a vegan do use her ingredients . . .
But if you are a North American, use my measurements. They are spot on.
These are great burger buns! They turned out beautiful and just perfect for what I wanted! We've been enjoying them in the days since with butter and cheese and all sorts. Yummy!
As you can see they had the perfect texture! Just gorgeous! I will be making these again!
*Easy Burger Buns*
Makes 8 nice sized buns
2 1/4 tsp easy bake yeast (for the bread machine)
2 TBS softened butter
We had them with some really tasty Kale and Quinoa Burgers and some Oven Baked Sweet Potato fries that I had been sent to try out from the people at Strong Roots!
We love Sweet Potato Fries in this house. I would rather have a sweet potato fry than a regular one any day of the week. The only problem with making your own at home, is that they are more often than not limp. Tasty, but limp and that can be true of a lot of frozen ones also. The Strong Roots company, an Irish Company, have come up with a beautiful frozen sweet potato fry! I am not surprised that they were Great Taste Award Winners for 2016!
Their oven baked sweet potatoes are made using the best varieties of sweet potato from the best growers of sweet potato in the world. They have been specially produced with a Gluten-Free rice flour batter. They have also discovered the best way to give you a firmer and crisp fry with a real sweet potato taste.
• Gluten Free.
• Low Saturated Fat.
• Low Salt.
• Source of Fiber.
They also sent me some Quinoa and Kale Burgers to try. I've never been a fan of Quinoa, but I am always keen to try something new!
The Strong Roots Kale and Quinoa Burgers are a vegan friendly, low sugar and a low saturated fat alternative for your meals. With a crisp quinoa crust, mixed vegetables and no-artificial flavours, they bake to a tasty and crisp burger, and are suitable for a variety of uses such as a starter, a side or simply as a burger in a bun! They actually had lovely bits of carrot and edamame beans in them.
I served them on my home made buns and they were so delicious. I added some mixed rocket/spinach and watercress leaves, some mayo and sliced tomato.
Just look at how crisp those sweet potato fries were! I can tell you with all honesty, that these were the best frozen bake at home sweet potato fries I have ever eaten!
Altogether we both enjoyed these products very much! They are something which I would be quite happy to buy!
The Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries and Kale & Quinoa Burgers are both available at Waitrose and the whole range which also includes the Garlic Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes and Ripened Frozen Avocado Halves are available at Whole Foods.
Strong Roots Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries (RRP £2.99)
& Quinoa Burgers (RRP £2.99)
Many thanks to Strong Roots for sending me these products to try. I will write about the Sweet Potato Cubes and Frozen Avocado halves on another day. Although I have been sent these products for free, I was not required to write a positive review. I can say with impunity, and all honesty that these are great products. I love it when that happens! Bon Appetit!
We were on the shopping Estate near us the other morning and I was sitting in the car waiting for Todd. We were parked right in front of one of those Sub shops and they had an ad in the window for their new chicken caesar melt sandwiches. I looked at it and thought to myself, that looks tasty, supposedly using fresh rotisserie chicken, etc. but experience has taught me that looks are oftimes very deceiving and that I could probably do much better at home myself. And so I did.
I picked up a Rotisserie chicken at the grocery store afterwards, and some hoagie buns and then went home and created this.
It wasn't very hard to do at all. I split the hoagie buns and spread them with a homemade garlic butter. Garlic is a large component of a Caesar salad . . . as is Parmesan cheese. My garlic butter has both. I toasted the buttered hoagies under the grill, then I set them aside to keep them warm while I prepared the rest of the sandwich ingredients.
I tore the chicken off the bones of the rotisserie chicken and broke it into bite sized pieces, which I tossed together with an amount of caesar salad dressing. You can just use your favourite kind, and low fat if you wish.
I mounded the dresssed chicken into bun sized mounds on a baking sheet I had lined with lightly greased aluminium foil. Then I topped each mound with some melty cheese I had sliced in half diagonally. Back under the grill it went . . . to heat the chicken through and melt the cheese.
I had also grilled some bacon earlier until it was crisp. Smoked streaky bacon, two slices for each sandwich.
I also shredded some coz (romaine) lettuce and slices some fresh tomatoes thinly along with a bit of red onion, also thinly sliced.
The bottom halves of the toasted buns got layered up with shredded lettuce and onion slices and then drizzled with a bit more salad dressing and topped with the chicken and melted cheese . . . and then topped with the bacon and tomato slices, with the top half of the bun folded over top. I will just say one word about this. DELICIOUS! And at a fraction of the cost of buying one ready made.
*Chicken & Bacon Caesar Melt*
Makes 4 servings
4 hoagie buns
1 cooked rotisserie chicken
8 slices cooked streaky smoked bacon
225g creamy caesar salad dressing (1 cup)
(can use low fat)
4 slices of melty cheese, cut in half diagonally (I used Dutch Gouda)
For the garlic butter:
4 TBS softened butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 TBS grated parmesan cheese
1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
finely shredded lettuce
Served with some crisp oven chips these went down a real treat for our tea. We both fell in love. Its surprisingly tasty what you can do when you are inspired to do so! Plus I had some meat leftover (because there are only two of us) for a casserole and some bones for soup. Win, win, win!!! Bon Appetit!
Nothing new here that people haven't seen before. It's courgette season (zucchini to you North Americans). We all have them coming out our ears. I like to make zucchini loaf. They are always really moist and delicious. Zucchini is one of those vegetables that is pretty benign and basically takes on the flavour of whatever you put it with.
This recipe has been making the rounds. I saw a video of it on Facebook, but it is a recipe I have been baking for years. What is that they say? There is nothing new under the sun.
It is really quite good and is one of those cakes that gets even better upon standing. I also make another one which is more like a spice loaf. That one has nuts in it. You can find it here. It makes two delicious loaves. One to keep and one to give away.
I also do a really tasty Lime and cardamom version, that is nice, cut into slices and sandwiched together with buttercream. You can find that recipe here.
This one today is a basic lemon drizzle loaf, highly flecked with green and moist and delicious with plenty of lemon flavour . . . both in the batter . . .
And then with that lucious lemon drizzle glaze that you pour over the top of it . . .
It wouldn't be summer without a few zucchini loaves baking in the oven. In fact when the courgettes/zucchini are coming in fast and furious, I like to grate them and freeze them in 1 cup size packs, ready to use all the winter through. You know it makes sense . . .
*Lemon Drizzle Courgette Loaf*
Makes one medium loaf
Preheat the oven to 180*C./350*C/ gas mark 4. Butter aa medium loaf tin really well, or line with a loaf tin liner paper. (They are like cupcake liners, except large enough to line a loaf tin.)
Whisk together the sugar, courgettes, oil, egg, lemon juice and lemon zest in a bowl. Sift together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Add all at once to the courgette mixture and stir together just to combine. Spoon into the prepared loaf tin.
Bake for 50 to 55 m inutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.
Once it is cold, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle over the cake. Allow to set before cutting into slices to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
What is your favourite way to use zucchini/courgettes? I also like to use them in savoury casseroles. they make great gratins! Bon Appetit!
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